Football: Newport runs ragged over Magnolia
Tony Altobelli
NEWPORT BEACH - It’s nice to be home again.
Newport Harbor High, donning the blue uniforms, for the first time all
season, literally ran over an undermanned Magnolia squad, 55-13, Thursday
night in nonleague football.
“They were missing some guys over there,” Sailors Coach Jeff Brinkley
said of his opponents. “They had a lot of guys injured and it made it
tough for them.”
Injuries or not, the Sailors’ running trio of Andre Stewart, Ryan
Brill and Ryan Ortega had an evening not seen in Tars’ territory for some
time.
Stewart ran for 196 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries, Ortega
had 110 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while Brill ran for 102
yards for the Sailors.
“I definitely don’t remember ever having three guys go for over 100
yards,” Brinkley said. “They did an outstanding job of finding the holes
and running hard.”
To say the least. Overall, Newport Harbor (4-0-1), ran for a combined
460 yards on the evening, dominating from the outset. The Tars’ net
yardage was 661.
Ironically, Newport got the offense going through the air on its first
possession, as quarterback Chris Manderino hooked up with Justin Jacobs
on a 57-yard touchdown strike.
“They came at us with eight in the box and man coverage,” Brinkley
said. “Any time you go man on man against us, we’re gonna throw and we
felt that we could get guys open for Chris to find.”
To give credit to a banged up Magnolia (1-4) club. The Sentinels threw
everything but the kitchen sink at the Sailors on the following
possession.
After a successful 49-yard flea-flicker, the Sentinels pulled out the
bag of tricks again. This time on a double-lateral pass for a 24-yard
touchdown.
“They threw some good stuff at us,” Brinkley said. “We have to do a
better job of not giving up early points, even on trick plays like that.”
After a surprising 7-7 tie through one quarter, Newport Harbor got
busy, ripping off 42 straight points to blow the game open.
Brill and Stewart combined for all 64 yards on the opening drive of
the second quarter with Stewart taking it in from 11 yards out.
From there the “Stewart Show” rose to another level.
Including the 11-yard touchdown run, the senior running back scored
on four of his last five runs, including two 58-yard scampers that
rapidly increased his game total.
In fact, Newport had four, one-play drives that resulted in
touchdowns, three on Stewart runs and one on a 43-yard touchdown pass
from Manderino to Jacobs, his second of the night.
Jacobs finished with 108 yards on three receptions, while Manderino
made the most of his four completions, throwing for 130 yards and two
TDs.
With the Sailors out in front, 42-7, Brinkley used his reserves and
they found success as well.
Ortega, who had 104 of his 110 yards in the second half scored on an
18-yard run and third-string quarterback Morgan Craig managed to get in
the end zone on a 1-yard TD run.
On the defensive side, Newport held Magnolia to only 156 yards of
total offense and had three interceptions by Jacobs, Andy Rankin and
David Sprenger. Ryan Devin also recovered a fumble for the Tars.
All was not peaches and cream for the Sailors, as they committed 16
penalties for 131 yards lost.
“We’ve got to lower our penalties,” Brinkley said. “If we commit that
many in league, we’ll be in trouble.”
Speaking of league, the Tars will open Sea View League play against
Irvine at home Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“I’m a little nervous after playing a game like this so close to
league,” Brinkley said. “I was telling my assistants that I was happy
with the intensity in the Glendora game. We’ll have to really step it up
for next week.
“We’re going to hit the buzz saw next week,” Brinkley continued. “Our
guys know what’s ahead of us. We know we’re in a tough league and our
guys have been focused on our league all season. This is what we’ve been
waiting for.”
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